1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to protective gear for use particularly in contact sports such as football, rugby, ice hockey, field hockey, and the like.
2. Prior Art
The prior art teaches a number of protective gears useful at joints such as at the knee or the like. However, each of these protective knee guards has one or another disadvantage. Some of the knee guards of the prior art are too heavy or rigid and do not allow a user to have sufficient flexibility for running as is required in most contact sports. Other prior art devices do not provide sufficient protection. Typical prior art protective devices as may be used for knees are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,742,517 and 3,898,697. A protective device for finger or knee joints is also discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,842.
The present invention is particularly concerned with providing a protector device which in no way hinders a user thereof from running or otherwise making use of his or her knee but would still provide extremely adequate protection to the knee, especially when the knee is straightened which is the time when injury may most easily occur. While certain articulated joints have been used in space suit designs and diving suit designs as illustrated for example by any of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,939,148; 3,242,499; and 3,421,158, none of these articulated joints have the structure or accomplishes the purpose and serves the function of the knee guard of the present invention.